Dumb Oil Change Question

[Ground Speed]

When my car was at 4,XXX miles on the odometer, I had the dealership change the oil, and I went with full synthetic.

They put the reminder sticker in the corner of the windshield with 12,XXX miles as the stated time to bring it in. I figured that maybe synthetic lasts longer than normal oil, and didn't give it much thought.

Now at 9,XXX miles (about a year later - since this isn't my DD), I am getting the "change oil" prompt each time I start the car. Is this an automatic message based on mileage and/or time, or should I ignore the oil change sticker and take it in?

Thanks! :cheers:

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[89Trooper]

That oil count-down % uses many things to determine when to change the oil. Time, mileage, acceleration, speed, etc.

I would have it changed now and ignore the sticker.

I don't mean right this minute... as they build in time into the algorithm for procrastinators like me.

 

[jasonstang]

Maybe it was never reset.
The indicator is based on time and millage of 12 months or 10000 miles whichever comes first.
Ford specifies synthetic blend to last 10000 miles or one year so you can wait till 10000 miles or one year to change it.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

The prompts are based on usage and mileage but in your case 100% based on usage since its nowhere near the mileage limits. So hard use shortens the time, short trips shorten the time, etc..

Personally, I always use full synthetic but for the added safety. Buying it to extend changes means you lose the advantages of the oil life programming. In other words if your usage is hard on the oil, even synthetic, you could run too long since the prompts are based on factory recommended oil and would have to ignore the prompts to go longer between changes.

 

[Blk2015GT]

No stupid questions, only stupid people who pretend to know and dont ask

It's time or mileage, I believe it's 1 year or in the 7500-10k miles range. The window cling stickers they put on just toss after you leave the lot, they're useless. the car monitors the oil change needs based on actual usage.

Do remember it is likely programmed for the OEM Motorcraft blend oil, it doesnt know what oil you put in after, so using full synthetic and it goes off at say 7,000 miles but only been 6 months, you can likely go another 3k miles/6 months longer whichever comes first.

 

[brandonsmash]

I'm doing my own research into this right now. From what I understand, the oil life alert is designed around various parameters that include driving style, ambient temperature, start/stop cycles, etc.

After 5,100 miles my oil life alert is coming up, which is a bit disappointing as I am using full synthetic. I'll be changing the oil this weekend but I'll also be sending a sample of the oil to Blackstone Laboratories for analysis to determine if there's anything of which I should be aware, and what my realistic oil change interval is.

I also plan on using Mobil 1 Extended Life oil this time around, as by all accounts I've read it's a superior oil to standard Mobil 1.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

After 5,100 miles my oil life alert is coming up, which is a bit disappointing as I am using full synthetic. I'll be changing the oil this weekend but I'll also be sending a sample of the oil to Blackstone Laboratories for analysis to determine if there's anything of which I should be aware, and what my realistic oil change interval is.

The oil life algorithms don't know what oil is in the car and don't monitor any changes to the oil. It is based on tests results using the factory recommended oil and your actual driving conditions. Synthetic oil will be better than factory recommended oil in some ways but not others, so you can't just multiply/divide the oil life display by some number to know when to change the oil because it will be different depending on your driving conditions. Since its not just time/mileage, oil analysis will not be as good for deciding future changes if you are trying to get the maximum life out of synthetic because the conditions might not be the same in the future.

I always use synthetic but just as a bigger safety net since the advent of oil life monitoring in cars. In a car with oil life monitoring I use it to decide when to change because it will shorten intervals if conditions are worse while changing based just on mileage or months won't.

 

[Ground Speed]

Good stuff! Thanks everyone!

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